Rail anchor with positive applying stop



Sept. 13, 1955 M. K. RUPPERT RAIL ANCHOR WITH POSITIVE APPLYING STOP 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 24, 1952 IN V EN TOR. 8 41 1 Sept. 13, 1955M. K. RUPPERT RAIL ANCHOR WITH POSITIVE APPLYING STOP Filed April 24,1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jig. &.

ii 27 i0 INVENTOR.

United States Patent C F RAH. ANcrroR WITH rosrrrvn APPLYING sror Max K.Ruppert, Chicago, lib, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Poor &Company, Chicago, iii, a corporation of Delaware Application April 24,1952, Serial No. 284,047

2 Claims. (Cl. 238327) This invention relates to railway rail anchoringdevices and particularly to a well known type of rail anchor in which arolled metal bar is bent at one end into hook form to provide the anchordevice with upper and lower jaw portions for gripping the top and bottomsurfaces of a rail base flange at one side of the rail. The unbentportion of the bar constitutes the main body of the anchor and extendsacross the rail beneath the base thereof in a position to abut against avertical face of a crosstie. This portion of the anchor is provided witha locking shoulder for engaging the longitudinal edge of the base flangeat the other side of the rail.

The invention is directed to the solution of a problem (undue spreadingof the hook by overdriving) which is present in rail anchors of theheavy bar hook-jaw type because of the structural features whichcharacterize this type of rail anchor. Anchors of this type arecharacterized by their ruggedness of construction, as distinguished fromthe more flexible and resilient type of one piece anchor devices. Theruggedness is required to maintain the desired strong grip on-the railbase and to prevent undue spreading of the rail clamping jaws when thepressure on said jaws is increased by a lever grip of the jaws which isdeveloped when the creeping movement of a rail presses the under-railportion of the anchor against an adjacent crosstie or other stationarypart of the roadbed.

The anchors of the above type are also characterized by their simplicityof contour, whereby it is practical to form such type of anchor from aheavy rolled steel bar and principally by bending operations, asdistinguished from forging and upsetting operations, the bendingoperations being utilized to facilitate economical production and toavoid substantial change in the molecular structure of the rolled steelbar.

By reason of the use of heavy bar stock in the construction of saidanchors, for example bars having overall thickness of approximately 1"to 1 and having overall widths of approximately 1" to 1%, the hookportiontof such anchor is in theform of a single continuous bend and isbent to provide precision fit of the upper and lower jawson the railbase flange. There is provision for some slight spreading of the upperand lower jaws so as to accommodate rail baseflanges of slightlydiflerent thickness, but the spreading tolerance of the hook isnecessarily. low, since the elastic limit of the heavy bar stock isquite low.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide, in a railanchor of the above general type,.a stop means for preventingoverdriving of the hook portion of the anchor in the course of itsapplication to. a rail flange and thereby prevent undue spreading of thejaws during such application.

'Stop shoulders have been heretofore proposed for rail anchors of saidheavy bar type, but the proposals prior to the present invention havenot been satisfactory because they have been directed to impracticalstructures.

'In' some instances these proposals have contemplated off- 2,717,740Patented sept. 13, 1955 setting the bar at locations which involvedincreasing the length and consequently the flexibility of the hook jawportion. Certain other proposals have involved metal displacementsextending throughout the overall thickness or width of the metal bar,which alteration of the established method of manufacture not onlyrendered the anchor unsuitable for machine production on a commercialscale, but also altered the molecular structure of the hook portion ofthe anchor in such manner as to materially weaken the anchor device.

According to the present invention, the improved stop means are in theform of spaced apart shoulders formed on the curved inner surface of thehook and, since the curved inner surface of the hook, of anchors of thetype above described, is normally spaced a short distance outwardly fromthe vertical edge face of a rail base flange, the location of the stopshoulders does not involve increasing the length of the hook portion ofthe anchor or otherwise altering its characteristic grip on the railbase. Also the stop shoulders of the present invention are spaced apartlengthwise of the rail in a manner whereby they can be formed bydisplacing the metal of the bar at the marginal portions of the bar andtherefore do not alter or weaken the molecular structure of the barintermediate said stop shoulders.

The specific from of heavy bar anchor herein shown is formed from metalstock of T-shaped configuration in cross-section, the said metal stockincluding a reinforcing rib having a width equal at least to thecombined widths of the lateral arms of the bar and is centrally arrangedand extends lengthwise of the stock. The necessary rigidity in the hookend for resisting outward spreading thereof is provided principally bythe said centrally arranged reinforcing rib and to a lesser extent bythe lateral arms of the T-shaped stock. The improved stop shoulders areformed in the bend of the hook by displacing a portion of the metalcontained in the horizontal arms of the T-shaped bar preliminary to thebending of the bar into its final form. This operation is made practicalby reason of the fact that the lateral arms are relatively thin ascompared with the minimum overall width (hereinbefore specified) forbars ordinarily used. In the present instance the lateral flanges of thebar are approximately thick and, therefore, do not have sufficientthickness to cushion or absorb the shoulder forming pressures appliedthereto, but on the contrary permit sufficient displacement of metal inthe arms to form the outpressed stop shoulders. The said stop shoulders,being formed by displacing a portion of the metal contained in thehorizontal arms of the T-bar, do not extend across the bar, but on thecontrary taper off and merge into the bend of the bar at locationsadjacent'the opposite faces of the central reinforcing rib, therebymaking it practical to form the bend, in the region of the verticalreinforcing rib with a continuous are, whereby the flexing of the hookis uniformily distributed to the reinforcing rib throughout the entirecurvature of said continuous are. The displacement of the metal in thelateral arms of the T-bar can be accomplished Without materiallyweakening the bend of the anchor, since the rigidity of the hookshapedbend, as previously indicated, is provided largely by the outwardlyextending rigidifying rib. The tail end of the anchor body is formedwith an offset locking shoulder for engaging the edge of the rail base'flangeat the other side of the rail when the anchor is in its appliedposition.

The invention is illustrated in two specific embodiments shown in theaccompanying drawings wherein:

Pig. 1 is a plan view of a base portion of a railroad rail supported ona rail supporting structure and .provided with a rail anchor device,constructed in accordance with this invention, applied to said base; i

Fig. 2 is a side view of the rail anchor shown in Fig. l, the rail baseflange being shown in section;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the hook end of the anchor device shown inFig. 2 for the purpose of showing in clearer detail the configuration ofthe hook-shaped bend and the construction of the stop shoulders;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view similar to Fig. 1, but illustrating aslightly modified construction;

Fig. 5 is a side view similar to Fig. 2, but illustrating specificallythe modified embodiment shown in Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional plan taken on line 6-6 of Figs. 2 and5, respectively, to illustrate the spaced relation of the stop shouldersof both anchor structures herein shown.

Referring first to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 6 of the drawings: 10 designatesthe main body portion of a rail anchor constructed in accordance withthis invention applied to the base portion 11 of a railroad rail. Thesaid railroad rail is supported by means of a crosstie 12 and a tieplate 13 which intervenes between the top surface of the cross tie andthe bottom surface of the rail base. The tie plate 13, as hereinillustrated, is provided with spaced shoulders 14-14 for defining a seatfor the rail base and the plate is secured to the crosstie 12 by meansof suitable fastening devices 15. The fastening devices may be of anyapproved form and are illustrated herein as ordi nary track spikes whichare driven into the underlying crosstie through square openings 16formed in the tie plate.

The rail anchor device is formed from a rolled metal bar of T-shapedcross-section, the bar being arranged so that the lateral arms 17-17provide a platform for engaging the bottom surface of the rail base andthe centrally dispose-d rib 18 of the bar provides a flat vertical faceof large area for abutting against a vertical face of the adjacentcrosstie 12. One end of the main body 10 is bent into hook form toprovide the anchor with upper and lower jaws 19-26 which grip the topand bottom surfaces, respectively, of one flange of the rail base. Thebend 21 for connecting the upper jaw 19 with the lower jaw is formedwith a radius of approximately so that the diameter of the inner bend ofthe hook will be sufiicient to provide a substantial clearance 22 abovethe upper corner portion 23 of the rail base and also provide asubstantial clearance 24 below the lower corner portion of the railbase. A pair of aligned but spaced apart shoulders 25-25 are formed onthe inner surface 26 of the bend so as to provide vertical shouldersurfaces 27-27 adapted to abut against a vertical edge surface of therail base to limit the applying movement of the anchor. The lower edgesof the shoulders 25-25, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, ex tendbelow the plane of the bottom surface of the rail base and merge intothe inner curved surface of the hook by means of a fillet 28. The upperportion of the said shoulders 25-25 likewise merge into the inner curvedsurface of the hook by means of fillets 29. The clearance space 24, asshown in Fig. 3, provides the necessary clearance to facilitate theformation of the rigidifying fillet 28 without danger of obstructingflat contact of the shoulder surfaces 27 with the adjacent vertical edgeface of the rail base flange.

The shoulders 25-25 are preferably formed by applying metal displacingforce to the outer face of the arms 17-17 of the T-bar near the lowerportion of the bend 21 whereby the metal is displaced substantially asindicated by the indentation 30. A portion of the displaced metal is, ofcourse, pressed laterally into the walls of the depression 30, but themajor portion is pressed through the lateral arms 17-17 of the bar andis utilized to form the shoulders 25-25. The inner ends of saidshoulders merge into the inner curved surface 26 of the hook atlocations closely adjacent to the planes of the opposite sides of thevertical flange 18 as shown in Figs. 1 and 6.

The dotted line position of the upper jaw 19, as shown in Fig. 3,illustrates the initial position of the upper jaw before the hookportion is spread during the application of the anchor to a rail. Itwill be seen, therefore, that the normal spreading of the upper andlower jaws, during the application of an anchor to a rail, is rathersmall. By reason of the clearance 22 above the upper corner portion ofthe rail base, the upper jaw 19 bears only at its terminal end againstthe inclined upper surface of the rail base, the bearing contact beingat a substantial distance from the vertical edge of the rail. Thisconstruction utilizes the upper jaw as a lever to turn the anchor aboutthe lower jaw 20 as a fulcrum to hold the main body portion tightlyagainst the bottom surface of the rail base. The tail end of the body isoffset to provide a shoulder 31 which snaps up into locking engagementwith the edge of the rail base flange 32 so as to hold the jaw end ofthe anchor in its tight gripping engagement with the rail. The distancebetween the vertical faces 27-27 of the stop shoulders 25-25 and thevertical surface of the locking shoulder 31 is sufiicient to accommodatethe normal variations in the widths of rail bases for which the anchoris designed to fit. There will be normally a slight clearance betweenthe vertical faces 27-27 of the stop shoulders 25-25 and the adjacentvertical edge surface of the rail base. However, when the anchor is sodriven onto the rail that the face 27 of the shoulders 25-25 are broughtinto abutting engagement with the edge of the rail base, the impactforce together with the resilient reaction of the hook portion of theanchor will position the anchor 30 that the vertical face of the lockingshoulder 31 will engage the edge 32 of the rail base.

The hook portion of the anchor device is formed by bending asdistinguished from upsetting operations and the single continuous bendis a characterizing feature of the general type of anchor dealt with inthis application. However, the specific manner and the means for bendingthe bar into book form is not disclosed nor claimed specifically in thisapplication, since the said method and apparatus constitute the subjectmatter of my co-pending application Serial No. 153,164, filed March 31,1950, of which the present application is a continuation in part.

Referring now to the modified embodiment shown in Figs. 4 and 5 of thedrawings: The construction of the rail anchor device shown in thesefigures together with the sectional view illustrated in Fig. 6 wereoriginally disclosed and claimed in my said co-pending applicationSerial No. 153,164, filed March 31, 1950.

The anchor construction shown in said Figs. 4 and 5 is identical to theconstruction shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 except that the inner surface 26of Figs. 2 and 3 curved downwardly beneath the lower surface of the railbase and in spaced relation to the lower corner of said base to providethe clearance 24, whereas the lower portion 26 of the inner surface ofthe bend 21 of the embodiment shown in Fig. 5 merges into the plane ofthe flat upper surface of the lower jaw 20 at the lower corner of therail base. In other words, the bend 21 is so positioned to provide asubstantial clearance 22 above the upper corner of the rail base flange,but there is no appreciable clearance beneath the lower corner of therail base and the top surface of the lower jaw 20 and the vertical faces27-27 of the shoulders 25-25 of said Fig. 5 terminate at the plane ofthe top surface of the lower jaw 20*. However, in all other respects theconstruction of the rail anchor shown in Figs. 4 and 5 are the same asthat illustrated in connection with Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 6. Consequentlythe like parts of the two embodiments are identified herein by the samereference characters and the modified constructions of Figs. 4 and 5 aregiven the same reference characters plus an exponent a.

I claim:

1. A railway rail anchor adapted to be driven transversely of a rail toits rail gripping position and comprising a rolled steel bar of T-shapedcross-section bent at one end into hook form with the lateral arms ofthe T-bar forming the inner face of the bend and providing upper andlower jaws having wide flat faces for gripping the top and bottomsurfaces, respectively, of a rail base flange at one side of the railand with the vertical web of the T-bar providing a centrally arrangedoutwardly projecting reinforcing rib for said bend and the upper jaw,and the bend of the hook having a continuous arc in the region withinthe side planes of said reinforcing rib, a pair of spaced apart alignedshoulders pressed outwardly from the lateral arms of the T-bar, one ateach side of said reinforcing rib, to project outwardly from the curvedinner face of said continuous bend for abutting against an edge portionof said base flange to limit the applying movement of the anchor andthereby prevent flexing of said hook beyond its elastic limit, and alocking shoulder former at the other end of the bar for engaging a railbase flange at the other side of the rail.

2. A railway rail anchor adapted to be driven trans versely of a rail toits rail gripping position and comprising a rolled steel bar of T-shapedcross-section bent at one end into hook form with the lateral arms ofthe T-bar forming the inner face of the bend and providing upper andlower jaws having wide flat faces for gripping the top and bottomsurfaces, respectively, of a rail base flange at one side of the railand with the vertical web of the T-bar providing a centrally arrangedoutwardly projecting reinforcing rib for said bend and the upper jaw,and the bend of the hook having a continuous arc in the region withinthe side planes of said reinforcing rib, a pair of spaced apart alignedshoulders pressed outwardly from the lateral arms of the T-bar, one ateach side of said central reinforcing rib, to project outwardly from thecurved inner face of said continuous bend for abutting against an edgeportion of said base flange to limit the applying movement of the anchorand thereby prevent flexing of said hook beyond its elastic limit, thesaid bend being curved downwardly beneath the bottom surface of saidbase flange in spaced relation to the lower corner thereof and the saidshoulders having faces perpendicular to the bottom surface of saidflange and connected with the curved surface of said bend at a locationbelow the plane of the bottom surface of said base flange, and a lockingshoulder formed at the other end of the bar for engaging a rail baseflange at the other side of the rail.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,680,437 Warr Aug. 14, 1928 1,918,305 Warr July 18, 1933 2,161,484Preston June 6, 1939 2,171,819 Warr Sept. 5, 1939 2,483,491 Gehnert Oct.4, 1949

